Photo/Illutration U.S. President Joe Biden, left, holds a Wajima-nuri lacquerware ballpoint pen, a traditional craft made in Ishikawa Prefecture, presented by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, at the White House on April 9. (Provided by the Cabinet Public Affairs Office)

WASHINGTON—Stuffed Super Mario toys and Wajima-nuri lacquerware are among the gifts that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida brought to U.S. President Joe Biden for his state visit. 

On the afternoon of April 9, Biden and first lady Jill Biden invited Kishida and his wife, Yuko, to the White House.

Kishida has been visiting the United States as a state guest of honor.

The gifts presented to Biden included a set of Wajima-nuri coffee cups and a ballpoint pen.

Wajima-nuri is a traditional craft of Ishikawa Prefecture, which was devastated by the Noto Peninsula earthquake and tsunami in January.

Kishida explained to Biden that he had young craftsmen who had been affected by the disaster create the lacquerware especially for this occasion.

Other gifts included Okinawan coffee beans and character memorabilia such as stuffed toys and cups from Nintendo’s popular “Super Mario” video game.

Yuko presented Jill Biden with a copper accessory made in Takaoka, Toyama Prefecture, another traditional craft from the Hokuriku region.

The Kishidas and the Bidens then rode together in the presidential limousine known as “The Beast” on their way from the White House to a restaurant in Washington, D.C., for dinner together. 

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